Historic week: Dow plunges 1,079 points

What a terrible way to start off the year.

The Dow lost 1,079 points this week, or over 6%, as fears about China and crashing oil prices dealt Wall Street a painful one-two blow. It was the Dow's worst five-day start to a year on record, according to Dow Jones.

"People are very nervous. We have a lot of fear about what is going on in China," said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of trading at Themis Trading.

Investors were once again spooked by crude oil prices, which plunged to the lowest level since late 2003 on Thursday. Oil initially calmed down on Friday before retreating again. Crude finished the day at $33.16 a barrel, its weakest settle since February 2004.

On Friday, China managed to pull back from the brink and the benchmark Shanghai Composite closed 2%.

On Wall Street, investors initially responded favorably to the latest evidence that the U.S. economy continues to chug along despite the global turmoil.

The government said the U.S. added 292,000 jobs in December, easily beating expectations. It capped off the second-strongest year of employment gains since 1999. Importantly, wages went up 2.5% last month, matching the best gain in six years.

But there are lots of signs of the rising fear on Wall Street. CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index is now flashing "extreme fear," a dramatic reversal from "neutral" just a week ago.

Gold, which tends to rise during times of financial stress, was one of the only things that had a good week. The precious metal soared 4% to $1,103 an ounce.

Billionaire George Soros was among the most prominent investors to say the current situation reminds them of the 2008 financial crisis.